The Dorr Township Planning Commission has learned that the northeast section of the township is being prepared for a sustainable business park.
Chairman Bob Wagner said he has been notified that crews from Allegan County and Kent County will be collaborating on a project to establish the park near 146th Avenue and the Allegan-Kent County line. The park is expected to provide relief for the Kent County landfill that is nearing capacity.
Lori Castello, township zoning administrator, said it’s her understanding the business park will seek a planned unit development (PUD) designation in the next several months.
Darwin Baas, director of the Kent County Department of Public Works, outlines the “Reimagine Trash” project to the Planning Commission a couple of years ago. He said the strategic plan is to reduce solid waste taken to landfills by 20 percent by the end of the year 2020 and as much as 90 percent by 2030.
“We need to change waste reduction from a linear to circular approach,” he said in 2018.
He said a committed group of stakeholders, including Dorr Township Supervisor Jeff Miling, has been working on diverting waste and turning the landfill into a “sustainable business park” that takes in 250 acres. He introduced several business partners and sponsors in the project.
“We must change the trajectory for how we manage solid waste in West Michigan,” he said. Otherwise, the landfill in Kent County will be full by 2030.”
Once that landfill in Byron Township, which is used by Allegan County residents, can no longer operate, the trash and garbage will have to be handled by a site just across the county line in Dorr Township.
Baas said, “Seventy-five percent of what we’re putting into landfills today can be repurposed.”
In other business at Tuesday night’s meeting, the commission:
- Postponed a decision on a request for a special use permit from Jordan Notenbaum to build a private road on Noah Drive near 12th Street north of 144th Avenue. Commissioners insist on more information is needed from the County Drain Commission and Road Commission about potential water issues and they want to know whether site contains wetlands.
- Adopted zoning ordinance amendments for area regulations on accessory buildings, rural estates, agricultural districts and rural agricultural districts.
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